MIDDLETOWN, California--Property losses from a deadly Northern California wildfire, the most destructive this year in the western United States, climbed on Tuesday to at least 585 homes and hundreds of other structures that have gone up in flames. The latest tally, up from Monday's estimate of 400 homes razed, came as firefighters gained some ground against the blaze, which erupted on Saturday and raced through several communities in the hills north of Napa County's wine-producing region. Thousands of residents were forced to flee, many without warning as neighborhoods burned around them. One elderly shut-in was later discovered to have perished in her home, and authorities have not ruled out finding additional victims. Ana Malachowski, 33, was back in the devastated village of Middletown on Tuesday, picking through ruins of her brother's home as he tried to direct her by cell phone to spots in the rubble where jewelry and other items might be salvaged. "I'm just numb," she said, recounting how she and neighbors tried in vain to battle flames with garden hoses on Saturday before giving up to join in the evacuation. Her own house survived, she said, but added, "This whole town is a big family. You can't say, 'This family lost their home and this one didn't.'" Lake County sheriff's deputies began escorting some evacuees back to their properties to briefly tend to pets or livestock that were left behind. But authorities said conditions in fire-ravaged areas remained unsafe, with downed power lines and other hazards. Residents whose homes remained intact would not be able to reoccupy their houses for at least another couple of days. An estimated 13,000 residents remained displaced by evacuations, while the blaze, dubbed the Valley Fire, still posed a potential threat to some 9,000 buildings in the fire zone, roughly 50 miles (80 km) west of Sacramento, the state capital. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Doug Pittman said Monday night that the fire's latest advance was mostly toward hillsides and mountains away from heavily populated areas. But the fire was reported especially active on Tuesday near the small mountain town of Loch Lomond and the Aetna Springs resort. By Tuesday morning, the blaze had devoured 67,000 acres (27,0000 hectares)of timber, brush and grass left parched by four years of drought and weeks of extreme summer heat.